Tricky Grammar Question; help needed please

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I encountered this question in the Barron's Writing Workbook and can't seem to figure it out:</p>

<p>[To] the disappointment of the crowd, [neither]
the president [nor] any of his aides [were] able to
attend the ceremony. [No Error]</p>

<p>The answer listed in the key is D.
However, I thought it would be E because neither...nor can either be singular or plural depending on the noun that's closest to the verb. In this case, the noun is "any". I always thought that "any" can be either singular or plural, depending on what follows. Since "aides" are plural, so too would "any", and thus the linking verb should be "were".</p>

<p>Am I wrong?</p>

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<p>Here’s a thread I found on the same question: <a href=“WOW...WOW..wow....Grammae(r) - SAT Preparation - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1203982-wow-wow-wow-grammae-r.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>To make it easier, try saying it in a normal capacity. Chances are, you’d use “Was”.</p>

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<p>[any] of his aides, any mean one of his aides == singular, thats what i know</p>

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<p>@RyGonX is right. “Any” is singular.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone for the input.
@arceuz I saw that thread, but didn’t see any mention of whether “any” could be singular or plural, so I decided to make a new one.</p>

<p>As for “any” only being singular, I was always taught its number depended on what it precedes.
These links show what I mean: </p>

<p>Rule #2 on <a href=“Subject-Verb Agreement”>http://www.towson.edu/ows/sub-verb.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also, according to <a href=“http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/SubjectVerb.html”>http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/SubjectVerb.html&lt;/a&gt; , "Other words such as</p>

<pre><code>none, any, all
more, most, some
</code></pre>

<p>may take either singular or plural verbs, depending on the context."</p>

<p>Then again, all this referencing is trivial if that is not what Collegeboard follows. Does anyone know whether Collegeboard considers words like any and none always singular or as varying?</p>

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<p>Its talking about the president, it should be was. </p>

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<p>Bad Q. No surprise it’s from Barron’s. College Board follows the conventions you outline in your 11:53 comment.</p>

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<p>“any of his aides” means “any one of his aides.” You would use a plural verb in a sentence like, “Are there any doctors here?”</p>